Invasion of the Funky Flower
"Invasion of the Funky Flower" is the seventh episode of Season 11 of Cyberchase. Characters Main characters *Jackie *Inez *Matt *Digit *Hacker *Buzz *Delete Minor characters *Motherboard (mentioned) *Queen Mum (debut) Places *Grim Wreaker *Gardenia (debut) *Jungolia (debut) Flowers *Dizzy Daisy (debut) *Doofydil (debut) *Funky Flower (debut) *Happiolus (debut) *Nose Rose (debut) *Tutulip (debut) Plot There is a gardening contest in Gardenia, and the CyberSquad is participating. Matt grew a Tutulip, Inez grew a Happiolus, and Jackie grew a Dizzy Daisy. Jackie is dismayed when her Dizzy Daisy can't do anything, saying that she doesn't have a green thumb. The competition starts and Hacker arrives with his Doofydil. When Hacker doesn't win the award for Tallest Flower in Cyberspace, he is furious. He goes to Jungolia and retrieves the Funky Flower. He planned to introduce the Funky Flower to Gardenia as an invasive species. An invasive species is a species not native to an area that can affect the area's ecosystem negatively. They can affect the ecosystem negatively by taking all the nutrients and food, drinking all the water, blocking sunlight from other species, and crowding out the other species by taking all the free space. He sets Buzz and Delete to distract the guards to plant to Funky Flower in Gardenia. Hacker, Buzz, and Delete leave Gardenia before anyone notices what they did. The CyberSquad sees the Funky Flower rapidly multiplying and negatively impacting Gardenia's ecosystem by making all the other plants wilt. They attempt to remove it by pulling it out of the ground like a weed, building a wall, and trying to destroy its roots. All attempts fail. They couldn't pull it out of the ground because of its thick roots, the flowers released seeds into the air that bypassed the wall, and the roots are unyielding. All hope seems lost as Queen Mum's health drains. Jackie suddenly has an idea and takes a portal to Jungolia. She returns with the Funky Flower Beetles, a species that keeps the Funky Flower population in check in Jungolia. The Funky Flowers are quickly consumed by the beetles, and they were returned to Jungolia by Motherboard's portal. Everything is back to normal in Gardenia, and Jackie is awarded the highest award of Gardenia: the Green Thumb. The episode ends with Jackie saying that she does have a green thumb after all. Plot Synopsis Invasion of the Funky Flower (plot synopsis) Trivia *This is the first episode that begins with "I" since the fifth season episode, "Inside Hacker". *The episode mentions the English idiom of someone having a "green thumb", which means that a person is skilled at growing plants. **The phrase was first recorded 1940-1945. **The phrase of having a green thumb may have originated from algae outside the flower pot staining the gardener's fingers (or thumb) from handling plants in pots frequently or from King Edward I of England's reign. The king was fond of green peas and had a dozen serfs (agriculture laborers) harvesting them during the growing season. The serf who had the "greenest thumb" was rewarded and given a prize. Extras *'Math Topic:' "Invasion of the Funky Flower" deals with using units of measurements and the effects of exponential growth. *'Science Topic: '"Invasion of the Funky Flower" deals with invasive species and how they affect the ecosystem. *'For Real Segment:' Harry learns about invasive species. Transcript :Main article: Invasion of the Funky Flower (transcript) Gallery Cyber S11 004.jpg Dizzy Daisy close up.png|Jackie's Dizzy Daisy Happiolus.png|Inez's Happiolus Tutulip close up.png|Matt's Tutulip the bugs eats a leaf.png|A pest eats Jackie's flower The Funky Flower.png|The Funky Flower in its natural environment in Jungolia Jungolia.png|Jungolia Funky Flower Beetle.png|The Funky Flower Beetle eating the stalk of a Funky Flower Funky Flower Beetle_2.png|3 Funky Flower Beatles Funky Flower Beetle_3.png|A swarm of Funky Flower Beetles contestants in contest.png|Gardenia contest contestants contestants.png|Hacker's arrival to the Gardenia contest References #Dictionary.com (2018, Date Unknown) Green Thumb. Retrieved from http://www.dictionary.com/browse/green-thumb #Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary: Cambridge Academic Press (2018, Date Unknown) “a green thumb”. Retrieved from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/a-green-thumb #Reeves, W. (2011, Date Unknown.) Green Thumb - Origin of Phrase. Retrieved from http://www.walterreeves.com/gardening-q-and-a/green-thumb-origin-of-phrase/ External links [http://pbskids.org/cyberchase/videos/#!/all PBS KIDS - Cyberchase Videos - Invasion of the Funky Flowers] Category:Episodes Category:Season 11